CTC News

CTC has responded to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance on prosecuting bad driving, calling for a more rigorous interpretation of the law as it stands - namely, that dangerous driving should be charged as such, not downgraded to careless driving.

Bradley Wiggins has broken ribs and suffered other, non-serious injuries, in a crash with a van in Wrightington, Lancashire, whilst out on a training ride. The driver offered the usual 'Sorry, mate I didn't see you,' excuse, as she hit Wiggins while exiting a petrol station.

Despite overall policing levels remaining constant, traffic police numbers fell by 29% over the last ten years. Using the Freedom of Information Act, CTC can reveal the force by force data, showing which policing area has seen the biggest decrease in traffic policing.

CTC is urging Ministers to show much stronger leadership on encouraging more and safer cycling, after a lamentably weak response to the Commons Transport Select Committee’s inquiry earlier this year on road safety.

This week British Cycling increased pressure on the Government to review the way criminal justice treats road crash victims, securing an agreement to meet and discuss the issue. Meanwhile the Crown Prosecution Service are consulting on their guidance for prosecuting bad driving.

A new government advertising campaign on cycle safety has been launched, although with just £80,000 behind it, it's unlikely to have any discernable effect on driver behaviour. Worse still, the campaign includes some poor advice to drivers on overtaking.

For the last few years CTC's Stop SMIDSY project has recorded the inadequacies in the way the criminal justice system treats cyclists who have been involved in road crashes. CTC is now working with British Cycling and other organisations to call for a review of all aspects of the current system.

Traffic police are crucial to ensuring that road traffic law is enforced and illegal driving is minimised. Unfortunately figures obtained by the chair of the All Party Cycling Group, Julian Huppert MP, reveal that the number of police has collapsed in the last decade.

A hit-and-run drink-driver who ended a medal-winning disabled cyclist’s Paralympic dream has received an 18-month prison sentence. Simon Richardson, already disabled after a cycling collision with a car, had won medals in Beijing and was training for the London Paralympics when the crash happened.

A police officer has been convicted of dangerous driving following a collision in east London which has left a cyclist with serious injuries and possibly permanent brain-damage. Songwriter Pepe Belmonte was about to launch his first album, but has since had to relearn to walk and play the guitar.

New quarterly road casualty figures reinforce the bad news of other similar figures from recent months, not just for cyclists but for motorcyclists and pedestrians too. However, without quarterly data on cycle use, the change in level of risk is unknown.

Following Wiggins's flawless ride to gold at the Individual Time Trial, his response to the tragic death of a cyclist outside the Olympic Park has highlighted yet again the need for road safety changes to protect cyclists.

The families of Eilidh Cairns and Nora Gutmann, both killed by the same HGV driver - 56-year-old Joao Lopes - have demanded that his licence be permanently removed. Lopes pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to 4 years in jail but just a 6 year driving ban.

A report from the Transport Select Committee has criticised the Government over the handling of cycle safety. The report emerged following evidence given by CTC and CTC's President Jon Snow earlier in the year.

Lorry driver Joao Lopes hit and killed Eilidh Cairns in 2009 but was only ever fined for poor eyesight. Last year he ran over and killed 97-year-old Nora Gutmann in 2011. He has now pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and tachograph offences.

Figures released today from the Government show that cycle use increased very slightly in 2011, however, the numbers of serious injuries rose markedly. CTC is calling on Government to do more to improve safety.

An HGV driver who killed a cyclist while speeding with a "smudged" windscreen has received a worryingly lenient sentence. This is yet another case which reveals the inadequate workings of the judicial system.

A CTC member from Ealing has received a six figure out-of-court settlement from Transdev London after a double decker bus knocked him off his bike and ran over his leg, resulting in it being amputated below the knee.